Never
by BeaumontRulz
Summary: The war is over... but there will always be consequences for things such as war. Harry and Hermione find comfort in each other.
1. Never

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: This is … I guess depressing. I wasn't in a good mood when I wrote it and I supposed I had to write at least one piece of cannon … although the spoilers are only slight. Anyways, I hope you like so please read and review!

* * *

**Never**

The war was over.

He'd won.

Voldemort had finally been laid to rest.

And Snape … well, let's just say he probably wished he never killed Dumbledore.

But there had been casualties to the victory. It's what comes with war, said the Minister of Magic in his victory speech, as if he'd done all the work to bring the war to an end.

Harry gazed at the open countryside, his arms around his knees, which were pulled to his chest, fresh tears glistening on his cheeks.

He didn't want to take in the whole reality of what had happened that night. He never wanted to see another friend go through what Ron went through. Death was probably welcome to Ron by the time Voldemort was done with him …

Harry sniffled and blinked furiously, trying to stop more tears escaping his eyes. He could still hear Mrs Weasley's sobs coming from far behind him. He could still see her sinking to her knees as he told her what had happened to her youngest son. It was like seeing her in front of that Boggart again … except this was _real_.

Harry stifled a sob in the back of his throat and buried his head in his arms. He pressed his eyes to his forearm, in an attempt to stem the flow of tears sliding down his cheeks.

"Harry …" he heard someone whisper.

His head jerked up and found himself looking up at Hermione. Her eyes were red and her face tear-stained. She sniffed and sat down next to him, pulling her knees to her and hugging them.

Harry moved over to be closer to her and slid an arm around her body.

"Tell me this isn't real," she whispered, grabbing onto his other hand tightly and looking up at his eyes.

Harry couldn't bring himself to answer her and he looked away. She broke down into tears and clung to him as the sobs made her body shudder under his arm. Harry pulled her in closer, hugging her tightly, as he began to cry quietly.

They just sat there, clinging to each other as if they were to disappear if one let go suddenly. Harry drew a long, shaky breath and rested his cheek on the top of Hermione's head.

"If I hadn't been so idiotic …"

"Harry, you're not to blame yourself for this," Hermione said in a shaky voice, trying to sound firm and looking up at him.

"But it is my fault!" he exclaimed, tears coming back into his eyes. "If I hadn't …"

"This is not your fault!" she whispered angrily. "You punished Voldemort for doing what he did …"

"Punishing him doesn't make Ron come back Hermione!" Harry burst out angrily. He stood up abruptly and looked down at her.

She stood up too and glared at him. "What's done is _done_ Harry! You can't blame yourself for this."

"Why not?" Harry said angrily, turning his back on her and beginning to walk away.

"Because I need you to be strong," Hermione said, walking after him and touching his shoulder. He stopped walking and she walked around to stand in front of him. "Harry, I need you," she whispered, looking so scared that she was about to cry again. "I don't want to lose you too."

Harry suddenly broke down into tears. He sunk to his knees sobbing into his hands. "It's not FAIR!" he yelled, smashing the ground with his fists.

Hermione whimpered and knelt down in front of him. "I know," she whispered, tears sliding down her cheeks again. She moved forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. "We'll get through this together."

Harry nodded and pulled her to him and hugged her tightly again. "I … I can't lose you too Hermione," he whispered, biting his lip hard to stop the sobs coming out of his mouth.

"You won't lose me," she replied, pulling back and touching his forehead with her own. "You'll never lose me."

She moved her mouth forward and kissed his lips softly.

"Never."

* * *

A/N: shmeh, I'm not sure if this was any good but I hope you guys liked it… so could you leave a review :P please? Lol … luv ya heaps guys!

Alex


	2. Ever

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

A/N: Ok, I know I said this was just a one shot but I got a few requests to write a little more, so I have. But this is the last I will be writing of this fic. So please don't ask me to write anymore! Hope you like and please review after!

* * *

**Ever**

"We should go and see Mrs Weasley," Hermione murmured to him a long time later.

Harry looked down at Hermione who was cuddled up and looking very comfortable in his arms. He sighed and said, "Yes, we should."

"Come on," she said, standing up out of his embrace and pulling him up after her. "You're going to have to face her sooner or later Harry."

He nodded slowly and they began to walk through the field back to the Burrow. As they neared the house, Harry could no longer hear Mrs Weasley's sobs of grief, but he could hear, very faintly now, whimpers coming from the open windows.

Harry and Hermione entered the house and went through to the living room to see the whole Weasley family, except Percy and Ginny, sitting down, all their faces tear stained.

Mrs Weasley looked up as she recognised Harry and Hermione's presence. Her eyes were bloodshot and hollow looking. "Harry dear," she croaked, attempting to stand up.

She began to fall back down but Harry crossed the room quickly and caught her before her knees really gave way. She clung onto him for dear life, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks again. She began to cry softly into Harry's shoulder, hugging him tightly. The sound of Mrs Weasley's tears made Harry's eyes water, and soon, he was hard pressed to stop the wave of tears escaping his eyes.

The whole room was silent while Harry supported Mrs Weasley. Hermione looked on with tears in her eyes. Fred and George were staring at the ground their faces tear streaked. Bill and Fleur were sitting down, Fleur cuddling up to Bill, tears still running down her face. Charlie and Mr Weasley just had blank looks on their faces, like they couldn't believe any of this was happening.

Finally, Harry spoke. "Where's Ginny?" he asked softly.

"Her room," Mrs Weasley said in a shaky voice.

"I need to see her," Harry murmured, pulling back slightly. He helped Mrs Weasley back down into her chair and kissed her cheek before leaving the room to go up to Ginny's room.

He stopped at her door and knocked loudly.

No answer.

He knocked again and this time heard a rather loud thump, as though someone had thrown something heavy at the door. Harry took this as an invitation to open the door and looked in.

Ginny was sitting on the ground, leaning against her bed, her head in her hands and fresh tears sliding down her arms.

"Gin?" Harry said tentatively.

"What do you want?" she asked softly, lifting her head to look at him.

"I … just wanted to see if you were okay," he replied.

"Well, I'm just peachy keen Harry!" she said sarcastically and glaring up at him. "Fine and dandy! Really! No need to worry about little old me!"

"Ginny," Harry said in a kind voice, but she cut across him.

"No! I've just lost my fucking brother Harry! You're not going to make me feel any better about it!" she yelled at him, standing up and glaring.

"I know you've lost him," Harry said, stepping forward to hug her to him.

"You don't understand!" she sobbed to his chest, pounding it hard with her small fists.

"I know," he whispered, tears coming back into his eyes. "Come back down to the rest of the family. Okay?"

Ginny sniffed and nodded.

"It will be okay," Harry said softly, tilting her head up to look at him. "I promise you."

She sniffed again and followed him back down to the living room. As soon as she saw her father, she ran to him and hugged him tightly, beginning to sob again. Harry went and sat down next to Hermione, holding her hand very tightly.

The room was silent for a very long time.

* * *

"We really should be off," George said in an undertone as he and Fred walked with Harry out of the living room. "We need to get back to the shop."

"Alright," Harry said, shaking their hands.

"Thanks Harry," Fred said, staring Harry in the eye. "Look after Mum for us while we're gone. You can sleep with Hermione in our room."

"Thanks … huh?"

George smiled weakly and said, "That's the one good thing to have come out from all of this mate. We'll see you later."

Harry nodded and said goodbye as the twins' disapparated. He sighed and walked back into the living room. Fleur and Bill were now talking in whispers, in French. Incidentally, Fleur had taught Bill how to speak French ever since they had started going out. He'd caught the hang of it rather well and talked to Fleur in French just to irritate the rest of his family, although when they had to talk about something serious, French was used because no one else understood it.

Harry sat back down next to Hermione and said, "I'm going to stay here for a while. I think Mrs Weasley needs support."

Hermione nodded and said, "So am I. Ginny needs it too."

"You should go home to your parents first, just to see them and tell them what's happened though."

"I can owl them. I really think Ginny needs me here."

Harry smiled weakly and kissed her cheek. "Alright then. You go off and owl them with Hedwig. I'll try to get Mrs Weasley to eat something. She hasn't had anything since breakfast."

Hermione nodded again and left him to go and write her letter to her parents.

"Mrs Weasley?" Harry said tentatively, standing up and walking over to her. "I think we need to get you some food. You haven't eaten all day."

"I don't want to eat," she murmured, her head back on the headrest of the cushy armchair.

"You need something to eat Molly," Mr Weasley said tiredly, standing up and holding a hand out. "Come along dear. We all need something to eat."

"No," she whispered.

"Alright," Mr Weasley said, letting his arm drop to his side. "I'll bring something in for you on a tray."

They all left the living room and went into the kitchen. "What do you all want?" Mr Weasley asked, going over to the cupboard. His hands shook as he pulled a few plates out and sure enough, one slipped from his grasp. "Dammit," he said, whipping out his wand and repairing it.

"Let me do the food Mr Weasley," Harry said quickly, moving forward.

Arthur moved to the side of the counter and leant on it heavily, covering his face with a shaking hand. Harry silently made everyone sandwiches and served them. He placed one on a plate on a tray and took it out to Mrs Weasley.

"Mrs Weasley? I've got a sandwich here," Harry said, placing the trap down on the table next to her.

She nodded weakly and turned her head to look at him. "Harry, you know what it's like to lose someone," she whispered. "What am I supposed to do?"

It broke Harry's heart to see her like this. She was like a surrogate mother to him, and now it was as if she was a little girl, lost in a sea of people, not knowing where to go or what to do. He knelt down in front of her and held her hand tightly.

"You keep on living," he said softly. "You live for them. But don't let revenge fill your heart. If you do, it will eat away at you from the inside. Remember all those happy times you had with them. Just … let go of resentment of yourself for not saying something you meant to say to them."

"I … I can't do that," she whispered.

"It will take time," Harry said, squeezing her hand. "But I promise you, it will get better."

She sniffed and looked away from him again, and Harry knew that something like this would only take time.

* * *

"He was my son," Mrs Weasley said in a very shaky voice in front of a crowd of people at Ron's funeral, two weeks later. "He is my son. I used to get him up early to go off on long walks with his father, watching the muggles do the things that muggles do. I used to tuck him in at night and reassure him that no spiders would get to him halfway through the night."

Harry had to chuckle softly at this and looked over at Fred and George who were looking slightly amused.

Tears began to slide down her cheeks as she continued. "But, a year ago I realised something. He was not a young boy anymore, scared of such trivial things. I saw him come home from Hogwarts after his sixth year, looking so troubled and grown up that I knew he didn't need my reassurance anymore. He left with Harry and Hermione this past year to defeat You-Know-Who and fight for our cause. And in doing so he knew that he probably wouldn't come out of this war alive."

Her voice broke and she stepped away from the podium for a second. She looked back up, her eyes bright with tears and began talking again.

"Ron died for a great cause. He died so that the world could be saved. He died, along with the thousands of others who were killed at You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters' hands. I wish I could have been there for him. I wish he could have seen just how much everyone here loves him. I just …"

She stepped back from the podium again, holding a hand over her mouth, as if trying to stop the moan of misery escaping her mouth. Harry stood up and walked up to the stage and placed a reassuring hand on her back. She straightened back up and looked at him with a grateful look in her eye. She moved back to the podium.

"My point is I love my son. I will love him until my dying day. I will remember him for the wonderful son he was and for the hero he was. I really don't want to let go of him … but I've realised I must. I thank each and every one of you here today for coming here and paying your last respects."

She stepped back from the podium for the last time and walked back down to her seat next to Mr Weasley. The crowd clapped as she sat down. She laid her head on her husband's shoulder and began to cry softly.

Harry sat back down next to Hermione as the minister finished off the service.

* * *

"That's the last of the guests," Mr Weasley said tiredly.

"Good," Fred said, yawning.

"We'll be going home then," George said, looking at his father. "We'll drop around in a couple of days to see how she's going."

"Okay. See you then," Mr Weasley said, nodding at his sons before they disapparated. "Harry," he said, moving towards Harry who was sitting down with Hermione, talking quietly.

"Yes?" Harry asked, looking up.

Mr Weasley smiled weakly and said, "Thank you for making Molly see what's important."

Harry smiled back and said, "No problem."

Mr Weasley nodded at Hermione and began to walk up the stairs towards his and his wife's room.

Hermione turned to Harry and smiled weakly. "We're going to get through this, aren't we." It wasn't a question.

Harry sighed and pulled her into a tight hug. "Definitely. And when we have kids we can tell them all the stories of our adventures at Hogwarts."

Hermione smiled and nodded. "And remember Ron."

"We'll never, ever forget him."

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A/N: Ok, I really don't think this was as good as the first one but meh. Lol I decided to do a second one since you people seemed to think that this was an ongoing fic. It was a one shot originally, but now it's just got two chapters. So this is the end. Please note that it really is the end. I don't want any requests to keep this going. For now, I need to concentrate on my studies, and having to worry about one ongoing story is tough enough. I will be writing many one shots though, to tide you over until the next chapters of _The Day I Woke up in My Best Friend's Bed_. Please review guys and thanks for the support!

Alex


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